The World Ends With You
by Fall of Mana
Summary: Make a decision, face the consequences, then move foward. The choices he will make would either change the very foundation of the ninja world, or die along with him. AU.


My first written fiction after so many years. I chose Naruto because of its large cast of interesting characters. Read and tell me what you think. If it's fascinating to you, I'll continue and see where I can take it.

I don't own Naruto. That much is obvious.

Enjoy.

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Prologue:

If someone told him that the fate of the world rested on his shoulder months ago, he would have been ecstatic. Dreaming of it and experiencing it, however, were two very different things. The pressure, the enormous dependency, the lack of rest and the paranoia that at any moment in time, some unknown factor, no matter how small or insignificant, could raise chaos in a matter of seconds was something he wished he did not want to handle or even deal with.

Sadly he didn't have a choice in the matter. Fate was certainly cruel.

Hell, he even once told Neji fate was a load of bull. People followed it without cause for concern of what could be or could have been. What ever happened, happened and there was no way to reverse it. Looking back on it now, he remembered performing a multitude of hypocritical acts when he was younger.

The irony wasn't lost on Uzumaki Naruto either. With a sigh, he slowly got up from the grassy field he laid on.

'I can't even be called Uzumaki now can I,' He thought with a wistful gaze.

'_No you cannot,' was_ the reply.

"Kyuubi," said Naruto with a grunt. "Where do I go from here? This place is completely different and I wasn't exactly fond of History lessons. Or even the geography during this time either."

_'I am aware. For now, gathering information is your main priority. Heed my words Naruto; we are not in your time but…'_

"On a different plane of existence," He finished. "I know. I got the jist of it the first time."

_'You're highly misgiving.'_

Naruto grunted again in annoyance.

_'Naruto.'_

He stiffened. The nine-tailed fox addressing him by his first name didn't bother him. It was the somber voice behind it.

_'You are to remember one thing; the humans on this plane are not the same. Do not forget where we are. You are no longer home; do not misplace your emotions.'_

Naruto slightly narrowed his eyes. "I don't get it. You've given me a hard time for years. What's with the sudden respect for me now?"

For a while silence met his answer. _'I will say this once Naruto. Listen well.'_

Naruto's eyes widened, suddenly interested. _'I despise your retched kind. Nothing will please me more than to hear your screams of suffering as I feast on your very flesh and soul. I bed my time with patience waiting for the day to unleash my wrath upon you and the world when I broke free from my shackles, BUT,' _Kyuubi explained shouting the last word that stopped Naruto's rant cold.

'_I alleged it before; __**'Time'**__ is a delicate force, one that should not be trifled with! You. Do. Not. Interfere. With. __**'TIME!' **_It roared with frustration, each word louder than the last.

"K-Kyuubi?" Naruto hesitated to ask.

_'Hn,'_ what started as a humorless chuckle soon turned to hysterical laughter. _'So this is the fate I've been given.'_

"What the hell are you talking about fur ball?" Naruto retorted confused.

'_Still naïve I see,'_ came the grunted reply. _'Naruto, on this plane, you and I are unknown entities. I am unending. You, however, are not. Do you understand the severe consequences of being here? The balance has been tampered with. Such is the price that comes with forbidden jutsus.'_

He knew it was coming. He told himself everything will be all right. He would hunker down to think of a way back home and everything would be back to normal.

He would save Sasuke.

He would keep his promise with Sakura.

He would be the next Hokage.

He was only trying to be optimistic, but optimism wasn't going to work here. He was trapped. Trapped on a plane where his very existence could distort the balance for better or worse. It was because of him; all because of **him**.

He needed to know. "What if…that is…if I die here…then…?"

Kyuubi held nothing back. _'Everything. Everything will end along with you.'_

Naruto gritted his teeth. And cursed the name that resigned him to his fate.

"_NAGATO!"_

The World Ends With You

**Chapter: Legend of the Gutsy Ninja **

Pain.

Naruto had never truly hated it, when he carefully thought about it. He experienced every aspect of it. Through his hated childhood, through the death of dear ones, through training, through suffering. He had every reason to hate it.

But he didn't.

It was difficult to explain the feeling of it to others, both friend and foe alike. Some were memorable to him, others were not. He could go on and on about experiencing pain and not a single person would care to understand it, unless they experienced it themselves. Sardonically, Naruto would never wish his pain on anyone else.

Pain is mostly the leading cause of hate, violence and suffering. War caused pain. No. People caused pain.

'_Pain is detrimental to everyone Naruto,'_ Jiraiya-sensei once said. _'I believe the time will come when people truly understand it as well as one another.'_ He knew that, but…

He sighed. He wanted to end it. He wanted to end everyone's suffering, everyone's pain.

Kakashi-sensei, Anko, Old Lady Tsunade, Sasuke, Hinata, Neji, Iruka, the list went on. He even wanted to heal the sorrows of the man standing before him.

The man who destroyed Konoha.

The man who mercilessly hurt his friends and killed those he cherished.

The man who would soon change the fate of his life.

"Just by living people hurt others without even realizing it. So long as people live, so too will hatred."

Wind blew softly across the small field; his long red Haori [1] that reached the back of his calves, billowing along with it. Naruto closed his eyes.

"My sole purpose was to capture you, yet there were those who refused to give you up despite the hopelessness of the situation. I destroyed Konoha; I killed those you loved dearly."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Do you hate me? Do you want revenge? Such is the cycle that continues to plague this world. Because of hate, because of violence, we have the First Great Ninja War…

And then the Second…

And then a Third."

Naruto frowned.

"Peace? Understanding? It is far too late to change things now. There can be no peace in this cursed land Uzumaki Naruto. Even if you tried, could you endure it? Could you even do it all by yourself if that is what it takes? What Jiraiya spoke of is a fantasy only foolish people dream of. "

Naruto opened his eyes. Slowly he looked down at his hand, a small book gripped firmly between it.

"Let me hear your answer Uzumaki Naruto."

'Legend of the Gutsy Ninja, huh.' He thought wistfully. He looked in the man's direction, dressed half naked in a machine used to control his six bodies and a woman with dark blue hair at his left. He decided.

There was no turning back.

'Make your decision Naruto, face the consequences, and with the heart of an unshakable mountain, move forward,' were the words that rang in his ear. That old pervert.

"Pein and Konan."

The man known as Pein, assumed Leader of the Akatsuki, and Konan tensed, waiting.

"You're right."

Pein looked at him in stunned silence.

"…Really?"

Naruto continued. "I understand you. Everything you said is true, every word of it. I also hate you. I hate you so much that I want to kill you."

'So that is your answer.' Pein thought with a frown. "Then let us end this."

"My answer is that I'm a foolish person."

Pein stared with wide eyes. "What?"

Naruto began to move towards Pein, making long confident strides until he stood before him and Konan. "I will end it. I don't want anymore suffering than there is already. I will believe in what Jiraiya-sensei believed in."

"So we will wait for you to end it?" Pein retorted angrily. "Don't be naïve Naruto! It is far too late to do anything in this accursed world! And for what, Jiraiya's hopeless dream?"

"I will break the curse. If there is such a thing as peace, I will find it."

Pein faltered eyes wide in shock. "My…that is…my…"

"Yes," Naruto answered. "Those were the words you told sensei right? They were printed in this book. What's more, on the back it is written that he was inspired by a pupil of his to make this book."

"…I…it can be…"

"It's you, isn't it, Nagato."

Pein hesitated. Konan looked on in worry. "Nagato? What is going on? What is that book?"

"That book…" he whispered. "Tell me, who is the main character of that book?"

He looked him in the eyes and told him with all the conviction carried in his voice.

"His name is Naruto."

Pein was sure he felt his heart stop. The memory of the day he met with Jiraiya, trained under him and inspired him with the very words he wrote into his book. He felt himself reliving it. Every minute, every second.

"Nagato?"

He looked in Konan's direction, noticing her bewilderment, placed a hand near his eyes.

He was crying.

"You're the one."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

A hissing sound was heard, followed by a series of what was like locks breaking apart with a resounding 'clank'. Naruto looked on in stunned silence as Pein, also known as Nagato, slowly opened the machine he was placed in and began to step out.

"N-Nagato!" Konan looked distraught. "Don't force yourself-"

"Konan," he interrupted. "It will be alright. I've already known my limits were at an end. I won't last much longer, but I will make sure my last moments will be for something I truly believe in."

Naruto didn't know what it was, but the moment Konan and Nagato exchanged glances, a form of understanding came between them.

"We are abandoning Madara's plan. Perform the ritual Konan."

"What?" Naruto blinked in surprise. "What ritual? What's going on?"

"Naruto, before we begin, I have a question I need to ask of you."

Naruto frowned in his direction. "What is it?"

"How far would you go to protect those you cherish?"

He blinked. "I'd do anything."

"Even if it meant killing your enemies?"

"I…uh…" He couldn't find an answer. As far as Naruto could remember, he'd never gone as far as to kill anyone since he became a ninja. Not even the opponents he faced. Not intentionally. The thought of killing someone always lingered in his mind each time he went to battle, but he could never go through with it.

"I will defeat my enemies; even if they come back I will still fight. I don't care how long or how many times I have to do it." That was the best he could give.

Nagato nodded. "Yes, you will need that mentality. But be warned, showing mercy is a double edge sword. While it brings compasson to some, it will bring even more hatred to others. I will support you Naruto, but as I've said before, it is far too late to do anything here."

Suddenly, Konan started performing a series of hand movements, followed by Nagato who began to form his own after a few seconds. Naruto tensed confused. He didn't know why, but a sudden dread began to fill him.

"What do you mean it's too late?" He retorted.

"Madara's ambition has gone far beyond anyone's control. He has captured all but one Bijuu, and that is you. Konoha regrettably is destroyed and he will stop at nothing to complete his goal."

"I will stop him!"

"Yes, you will, but your resources are severely limited. The seed of hatred here is too deeply rooted. You need allies, a large number of them. That is why we have this solution."

Konan stopped moving her hands. "Kai [Release]."

The ground suddenly began to rumble beneath their feet. Or what he thought was rumbling. He wasn't sure. Judging from Nagato and Konan's oblivious reaction, it seemed it was all in his head. He didn't know if it was Genjutsu or not, but it was getting harder to stand with each passing second.

"Forgive us, Uzumaki, for this is the way it has to be."

"What ar-," Naruto suddenly tensed as his world began to turn. Like something from a kaleidoscope, he began swimming in a sea of pattern like colors. From blue to green, to an unnatural orange-red.

He knew what was coming.

Naruto braced himself for the oncoming mental onslaught of vile chakra that appeared, spreading and surrounding his body.

'K-Kyuubi!' He shouted from his mind. 'Bastard! I don't have time for this now!'

'_Insolent boy!_' Came its fearsome roar. _'You will release me this instant! I will not let them perform that forsaken jutsu!'_

'What jutsu?' Naruto thought, confused all the while keeping the sinister chakra suppressed. 'What the hell are you going on about ya stupid fox?'

"It is done Nagato."

Naruto whipped his head in their direction. Konan stood stock still with her open palms facing in his direction. Nagato then began performing and all too familiar ritual. Seals. Naruto panicked. 'S-Shit!'

"W-What are you doin-"

"Gedo Rinne Tensei No Jutsu."

He wasn't sure what happened entirely during that moment. His memory of that scene was a bit hazy. All he could scrounge up was the point where he suddenly went deaf the moment those words left Nagato's lips. He couldn't hear anything at all. But that wasn't what he was most concerned about. It was what came after that terrified him.

Unimaginable pain.

From the inside it was as if his very being was tearing apart. The pain was on a level he had never experienced at all in his lifetime. The force of it literally paralyzed him. Tilting backward, he fell to the ground, silent screams begging to be forced out of his mouth.

He couldn't breathe.

His entire body arched upward in spasms as his system viciously registered extreme pain, again and again and again.

"Soon." He heard a voice. He could only assume it was Nagato's voice. "You will see firsthand what kind of war was wrought upon the ninja land. The cycle of hatred that had been manipulated and used by the very men that led to many deaths in both Konoha's past and the past of every nation."

If it was possible, Naruto's eyes widened even further. By this point, his body had gone completely numb from the assault, violently twitching in areas where it seemed impossible to bend.

"You will see Naruto, you will decide, you will make the difference. The road you will take will probably easier or harder than it is now, but I know things will change in ways that seem unfeasible if you are there."

His vision was fading. So this was it, he thought. Was he dying? Was this it? He could hear the sound of frantic roaring in the back of his mind, probably the Kyuubi. He didn't care. All that was on his mine was one thing. He failed.

He failed Sakura. He couldn't make his promise.

He failed Sasuke. He couldn't bring him back.

Kakashi, Shizune, Iruka…

Hinata…

"I must say Naruto, you are an odd one. But, we will believe what Jiraiya-sama has believed in."

He didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. It didn't matter now anyhow. He began slipping away into unconsciousness.

"You are the one who will shape the world."

Everything went black.

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Made the prologue a bit short. It served its purpose for now. Tell me what you think. Chapter 2 should be up soon. I don't normally type this short. The next coming chapters will average around seven to ten thousand words.

**[1] Haori -** Haori is a hip- or thigh-length kimono jacket which adds formality. Haori Jacket is a open fronted jacket. With Haori the bust and waist sizes do not matter, almost one size fits all. The important size is the Width between both wrists with the arms held out to the side. Naruto wore something similar during his confrontation against Pein in the Manga and Anime.


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